Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
ARCHIVE (General Topics)
>
What Are you Reading?
Mod
This is exciting news!
Mod
I just realiz..."
I like Charlie's work so much. It is intelligent and understated. She writes for grownups. And I like that in an author.
Mod
Yes, I enjoyed this one a lot.
Mod
A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen on the romance part
[book:Finding Peace|215..."
I've been reading -- skimming -- a lot of Evernight short stories. They are all competently written and depressingly uninspired. They seem to exist merely for the sex scenes.
That seems like such an outdated notion at this point, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we do still have a huge percentage of readers basically looking for sex scenes?
Josh wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Thanks to GR not working last night, I managed to read 2 books (and 1 DNF at 40%)A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen on the romance part
[book:Fi..."
I dont read many Evernight stories for precisely that reason. I need a story not just sex scenes but there must be plenty of readers who like them.
Josh wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Thanks to GR not working last night, I managed to read 2 books (and 1 DNF at 40%)A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen on the romance part
[book:Fi..."
I'm one of those (rare?) m/m readers who skip 99% of the sex scenes, I don't think I had reached any sex though, only a few kisses and a grope, I just didn't feel any connection to the story or the characters
I think I'll just not buy anymore of their books
Mod
A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen on the romance ..."
I don't think you're all that rare these days. I mean, unless you just arrived five minutes ago, how interesting can a sex scene BE? I'm not saying a well-crafted sex scene doesn't add to a story, but -- for me at least -- the prerequisite is a story.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised that the Evernight stories were all competently written because that's actually not something we can take for granted.
Josh wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Josh wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Thanks to GR not working last night, I managed to read 2 books (and 1 DNF at 40%)A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen ..."
Heh, no, I've been reading m/m for well over a decade
Josh wrote: "So when a reader says they liked a book better in audio than print, that does seem to say more about the reader than the author. It seems to be more about how the reader interpreted and understood the material the first time around. The narrator may simply better understand and illustrate nuance and subtext...."I do agree that it says more about the reader; speaking for myself, sometimes I don't read carefully enough. This seems to be especially so when it's a book I've been looking forward to; I'm so eager to find out what happens that I zoom along too quickly. That's why sometimes I'll re-read something as soon as I finish it!
However, it does also say something about the author; only positive things, though. I think it shows that the writing has the right pace and rhythm, and that it avoids repetition and sentences which are the same length, or too short. I think it also shows that the dialogue is good, that it really sounds like people talking. Some books are not sufficiently well-written to sound good read aloud.
Mod
A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen on the romance part
[book:Finding Peace|215..."
I had a couple of RJ Scott books on my TBR pile, but took them off after reading the first Sanctuary book. It was no where near as good as it could have been. For me anyway.
Mod
A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen on the romance ..."
Not rare at all. I often will skip sex scenes in a book if they're not integral to the plot, are long and too description/detail oriented, and the like. Or, if I've just read too many of them, sometimes that includes sex scenes in several books read back to back. lol.
I'm about to hit my thresh hold on too many sex scenes actually, so I'm glad my next book will be YA. And I'm thinking of starting the Greenwode audio book for something MM that's a little different from what I've been reading a lot of.
Jordan wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Thanks to GR not working last night, I managed to read 2 books (and 1 DNF at 40%)A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen on the romance part
[book:Fi..."
I find her books soothing, but they are definitely not master pieces, some of them, like the Texas seris, has gotten too mushy for me though
Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Josh wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Thanks to GR not working last night, I managed to read 2 books (and 1 DNF at 40%)A Reason To Stay 3 stars, good plot, but I wasn't keen on the romance ..."
Having said that I have enjoyed the Market Garden series and those books have long sex scenes. I think most of book 1 was a sex scene but the writing was really good - Alex and LA Witt.
Mod
That seems like such an outdated notion at this point, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we do still have a huge percentage of readers basically looking for sex scenes?
"
It could be that those readers may include a lot of new/newer to m/m romance or crossovers from het romance. My bridge to ebooks was erotica, the tech version of plain brown wrapper.
We find that many new Argentine tango students are enamored with the notions of "passion," fancy kicks, and the glitz of the women's shoes, and dressing-up. But a lot of us, those who stick with it over time, may still enjoy some of the glitz, but come to understand (crave) the more subtle, deep, elegant elements.
I've read/skimmed some freebies recently that are just as those you're describing. Maybe we've passed into the next wave of readers/writers, and they kind of reinvent the wheel focusing on what may be seen as the "signature" components of the genre, like sex, lots of it. Optimistically, readers/writers will evolve. Then again, porn is eternal. ; )
Mod
That seems like such an outdated notion at this point, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we do still have a huge percentage of readers basicall..."
Ha! Good point. :-)
Karen wrote: "Optimistically, readers/writers will evolve. Then again, porn is eternal. ; )"LOL!
And I think too that the amount of sex scenes borne by a reader is often inversely proportional to the time the same reader has been reading m/m.
Jordan wrote: "And I'm thinking of starting the Greenwode audio book for something MM that's a little different from what I've been reading a lot of."Quite good reviews for that one! But till now none written by friends.
Susinok wrote: "Bella wrote: "Finished reading Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux...and mighty disappointed with it, so much so that I feel like crying...waited almost a year for this book and the result..."I know what u r saying...but last book was so good and only more book to go to finish the series so I was super excited, but damn...this book is all about nick and kelly and nick-ty's friendship,zane felt like a side character and being a Zane fan, this is not acceptable to me.Besides Nick got his own series so why ruining this one. Anyways...only 1 book to go and I hope it's wayyy better than this one
Josh wrote: "That seems like such an outdated notion at this point, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we do still have a huge percentage of readers basically looking for sex scenes? ..."There are m/m readers who came from fan fiction, but there are a lot of them who came from reading erotica as well. I used to be an avid reader of the Kindle Smut group but got bored with it.
I myself found m/m through erotica and menage. The Kindle opened up all kinds of erotica reading for me which I'd never found before, so I was like a kid in a candy store for a while.
Eventually the thrill wore off and the plots began to bore me and I'd found m/m with some really good writers and stories in it that would not be labeled erotica if it weren't m/m and here I am.
But I see quite a large chunk of folks do read for that erotic content.
There's definitely room for both but one should be tagged romance (or mystery or fantasy, etc) and one should be tagged erotica. Just because the relationships are gay does not automatically make it erotica.
Mod
One of my favorite series ever. This is also something I sometimes use for soothing purposes before going to sleep. I love Michael and Wild Bill dearly. :-)
Johanna wrote: "I love Michael and Wild Bill dearly. :-)"Me too!
Barbra wrote: " when Fictionwise was having a good sale"The good old times. I remember them fondly... ;-)
Na wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Having said that I have enjoyed the Market Garden series and those books have long sex scenes. I think most of book 1 was a sex scene but the writing was really go..."I hope so. Thanks :D
Barbra wrote: "Na wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Having said that I have enjoyed the Market Garden series and those books have long sex scenes. I think most of book 1 was a sex scene but the writing wa..."I bought them all a few months ago with one of the awesome Kobo codes - still need to get to them, too. :)
Mod
"One of my favorite series ever. This is also something I sometimes use for soothing purposes before going to sleep. I love Michael and Wild Bill dearly. :-) "
Love them. I still have their lovely faces up on the wall behind my computer desk from JCP's 2013 calendar. ; )
Bella wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Bella wrote: "Finished reading Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux...and mighty disappointed with it, so much so that I feel like crying...waited almost a year for this boo..."I agree with you, Bella. I'm a Zane fan, too. I really hope the last book makes up for B&C! :)
Mod
So far, I'm hooked on Hostile Ground and loving it.
I'll give another update further on, when I can.
I've read very many L.A. Witt's books and the ones with violence in them aren't anything any worse than Josh's Dangerous Ground series or Fair Game. She's a good writer who does sexual tension and chemistry very well. Many of her books are done in first person, which I really enjoy.
Valerie C wrote: "Bella wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Bella wrote: "Finished reading Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux...and mighty disappointed with it, so much so that I feel like crying...waited almost a yea..."Yeah...lets keep our fingers crossed, otherwise following the series for so many years would be for nothing :(
Been kind of in a reading funk for the past couple weeks--busy with work so it feels hard to sink into something (although am super excited for Josh's book on Monday!)But to find something--anything--to read, I started Muscling Through again and just finished this afternoon. That story is a real gem. It's definitely one of my favorite comfort reads.
Jordan wrote: "Hj, I'm almost at the halfway point and I have a feeling the violence meter won't be nearly as high as one might be expecting. There is lots of sex though, but it's kinda necessary for the characte..."Thanks Jordan!
Susinok wrote: "I've read very many L.A. Witt's books and the ones with violence in them aren't anything any worse than Josh's Dangerous Ground series or Fair Game. She's a good writer who does sexual tension and ..."Thanks, Susinock. I wasn't sure if when she was writing with Alecks they might have wound each other up, so to speak.
ttg wrote: "But to find something--anything--to read, I started Muscling Through again and just finished this afternoon. That story is a real gem. It's definitely one of my favorite comfort reads. ..."I just love that book! I can't get over how cleverly one sees what Laurie is feeling and thinking even though the POV character Al is misunderstanding him. And Al is so adorable.
Valerie C wrote: "Bella wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Bella wrote: "Finished reading Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux...and mighty disappointed with it, so much so that I feel like crying...waited almost a yea..."I don't get all this moaning about other characters in the book, I like them all, I do wish we'd had a bit more of a reunion between Ty & Zane, but it didn't ruin anything for me that we didn't
Are you not going to like Nick's books then? Because all the others, including Ty & Zane, will be in them too, once in a while
Idamus wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "Bella wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Bella wrote: "Finished reading Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux...and mighty disappointed with it, so much so that I feel like crying...w..."Well to each his own. Just because some of us didn't like, doesn't mean others won't like either :)
And yes, I was really curious about Sidewinder series, but right now I lost interest. May be after cut & run finishes, I will read them who knows!! But again...thats just me :)
I'm having a ''Henry Rios Mystery'' attack, helped also by three days in bed with a cold.
Antonella wrote: "I'm having a ''Henry Rios Mystery'' attack, helped also by three days in bed with a cold."Oh Antonella, sorry that you're still ill. But the amount you pack into life I'm not surprised that your body has cried halt, and demanded a rest. You have lots of good books to read, especially tomorrow!
Hj wrote: "Oh Antonella, sorry that you're still ill."Thank you, it's much better today though. In fact I'll work a bit so that I can have more time tomorrow ;-).
Mod
I hope you feel much better by the end of the day Antonella. Sorry to hear that you are still unwell. Hugs from me.
Thank you for the well wishes, but now that I'm not so sick anymore, I'm quite happy: I can't remember if I've ever had so much time to read all together ;-).I've just read this wonderful short story
. It's by Julio-Alexi Genao, who writes wonderful reviews, and it's for free. Go and read it now!
ttg wrote: "But to find something--anything--to read, I started Muscling Through again and just finished this afternoon. That story is a real gem. It's definitely one of my favorite comfort reads. ..."I think I've re-read that book 20 times or more now. It's always there for me when I can't settle on anything.
Idamus wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "Bella wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Bella wrote: "Finished reading Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux...and mighty disappointed with it, so much so that I feel like crying...w..."I did read Shock & Awe and didn't think it was all that great so I don't know if I will read the next one.
I had other problems with B&C besides the fact that Nick seemed to be the main character in T&Z's book. I just didn't think the story/mystery was very good. And the Ty/Zane scenes didn't have the same chemistry as they did in previous books. :)
Antonella wrote: "Thank you for the well wishes, but now that I'm not so sick anymore, I'm quite happy: I can't remember if I've ever had so much time to read all together ;-).I've just read this wonderful short s..."
I enjoyed that short story, and I love reading Julio's reviews. :) I did love The Apothecary's Garden but his review cracked me up. ;)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Valerie C wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "Bella wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Bella wrote: "Finished reading Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux...and mighty disappointed with it, so much so that I feel ..."Totally agree
Valerie C wrote: "I enjoyed that short story, and I love reading Julio's reviews. :) I did love The Apothecary's Garden but his review cracked me up. ;)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... "
LOL! Thank you! I had missed this one.
I love his reviews even when I don't agree with his rating
Mod
LOL!
And I think too that the amount of sex scenes borne by a reader is often inversely proportional t..."
So. True.
Mod
Yeah, sadly it just doesn't seem to work that way. Readers tend to latch on to a particular series.
So many A&J readers just did not cotton to the H&M series, but the H&M series developed its own very passionate readership. There's some crossover, but I am constantly surprised by the number of people who write me asking for the next H&M and confess they've never read the Adrien books!
Mod
I'm sure Ty and Zane will be front and center in the next book. We all want to go out in a blaze of glory! ;-)
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
Subtle Bodies (other topics)Husband Material (other topics)
Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night (other topics)
A Shattered Silver Crown (other topics)
A Shattered Silver Crown (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jordan Castillo Price (other topics)Alexis Hall (other topics)
Katherine Fabian (other topics)
Iona Datt Sharma (other topics)
Cynthia Zhang (other topics)
More...
Well they do feel fresh again, and I think this is largely do to the narrator. An audio book is so much about the interpretation and performance.
So when a reader says they liked a book better in audio than print, that does seem to say more about the reader than the author. It seems to be more about how the reader interpreted and understood the material the first time around. The narrator may simply better understand and illustrate nuance and subtext.
Which fascinates me for a number of reasons. But it does ultimately come back to the personal and subjective nature of reading.